Malcolm Wilkerson
Malcolm Wilkerson (born 1989) is the main protagonist of the series. He is shown to have a rather unjustified superiority complex, believing he deserves a much better life than he's got, though much of his misfortunes he brings upon himself. Biography Malcolm Wilkerson is a hopelessly miserable and annoyed kid who lives a very crappy life. He's a social outcast and spends most of his spare time alone, growing very self-absorbed and egotistical. His lack of friends and popularity is mostly due to his parents and home situation, as well as his own ego and need for fairness and truth. A heavy example of this is in the fourth season episode "Malcolm Holds His Tongue," in which he gets kicked off his basketball team for stating the noticeable flaws in his coach's game plan, and thus attempts to keep his thoughts to himself, only to get a peptic ulcer by the end, after continually listening to what people had to say and not speaking his mind. In the Pilot episode, Malcolm was shown to have an IQ of 165, placing him in the "exceptionally gifted" section of the IQ chart, making him a genius. However, Malcolm never gets any respect in society even though he is a genius because like he always calls things "unfair", which is a recurring theme in the show. Malcolm has an incredible memory, Though it usually revolves around things he resents as he states "I remember anything that ruins my life." He will also hold a grudge for things that have happened years ago, as seen in "Morp." Malcolm is the only one who seems bothered that the whole neighborhood hates his family. In the Pilot episode, both of Malcolm's next door neighbors were seen selling their homes and regretfully, but willingly planning on moving out because of having to be near the Wilkerson family. In the episode Block Party, it was shown that the Wilkerson family served a purpose in the neighborhood, as the family to absorb all of the negative energy from the other families in the neighborhood, because once the neighborhood started liking them, they all started directing their hatred at each other and the whole neighborhood spiraled out of control into a vat of complete madness. Malcolm's relationship with his brothers is one of seeming animosity at most times, though there have been several instances of much unity and friendship between them. Francis is his favorite brother and often looks up to him because he was rebellious and can tell Lois off. But, like Reese, he felt disappointment when they visited Francis on the ranch he worked at and saw that he was no longer their delinquent idol, and had become a responsible adult, even acting stunned when he said that sometimes Lois is right to punish them, but they made up with Francis at the end of the episode. Though he had felt great guilt after having cheated with Reese's girlfriend (prompting Reese to join the army) the following season he compiled a list of things Reese did to him that he insisted were much worse. While he enjoys pulverizing Dewey and making him miserable, he occasionally attempts to help him, although it usually goes wrong (such as when it becomes apparent Dewey may also have a genius-level intellect, and Malcolm attempts to keep him from being transferred into the Krelboyne class, thus sparing Dewey the misery he endured, but instead manages to get him sent to a class for emotionally disturbed children after sabotaging his answers for his IQ test and attempted to fix the situation before Lois found out). Though on another occasion, at the zoo when Dewey fell into the tiger cage, despite Malcolm being in a deep depression for most of the episode and apparently several weeks before hand, showed genuine worry and jump over several rails and then jumped into the cage himself to get to his brother, only to trap himself in the cage as well. While in the tiger cage, believing he was about to die, confessed that he actually did love his family. Throughout the series, Malcolm's intellect has proven to be more of a burden then a blessing, as he is the person the family usually turns to when faced with a crisis. This was shown when Hal refused to let Malcolm go to an out of country school (Malcolm tried to use it to escape his family.) Hal said he was the family's last hope. His genius is also the reason Lois tries to completely control his life as she believes Malcolm is the only one of her children with a chance of amounting to anything. Many episodes show Malcolm struggling to get out Lois's control. But all his efforts prove to be in vain. While Malcolm is, for most part, extremely unpopular with girls, he has had a number of girlfriends throughout the show. However, they all end in an extremely unhappy fashion. Either because of Lois, who plans to choose who he marries for him, or Malcolm's own actions. Malcolm has had five jobs in the series. His first was a babysitter for a wealthy family to earn money to purchase a robotics kit, but he quit after learning that the family's parents were spying on him. In the fourth season, he worked as a tutor to a girl named Nikki, whom he eventually dated for a few episodes. Later, in the fifth season, Lois forced Malcolm to take a job with her at the Lucky Aide, as a way to have him under her control. While he hated the job and tried to quit many times, Lois would not let him. He finally quit at approximately the time he graduated high school. In Season 6, he had a job betting on horses. In the final episode, he gets a job as a janitor at Harvard to help with his tuition. In the final episode it is revealed that Hal and Lois do not plan for him to have an easy life. Because Malcolm consistently exceeds his parents' expectations, by both his intellect, his character, and sense of ethics, by the time he graduates from high school, they have the highest of expectations for him: that he will become President of the United States. Pursuant to this, instead of letting Malcolm take a six-figure salary job out of high school, his parents force him to follow through on plans to attend college as part of an elaborate plan for his future. Lois says that at Harvard, Malcolm will have to work harder than his classmates and will accomplish more than they do, but they will continue to look down upon him. When Malcolm argues that he could have taken the job and "bought (his) way into office", Lois concludes that Malcolm "wouldn't have suffered enough" (though he has suffered his whole life.). Because of the struggles he's forced to endure, Malcolm will realize that there is more to life than flaunting how intelligent he is. After college, the plan provides for him to channel his energies into a political career, and after starting off as a district attorney or running a foundation, he will be elected governor of a mid-size state, and then President. They envision that he would then become one of the greatest Presidents ever because he would represent, understand, and, more importantly, show empathy with the interests of people like his family, which, his parents say, no other President has. (Though seems unlikely given Malcolm's selfishness) It appears that his brothers and Grandmother are aware of these plans, as when Malcolm looks around at his family after being told this, they all nod at him, and Francis simply states, "Thought you knew". After hearing this, Malcolm ultimately understands that, even if he does move out of the house, he will never truly be free of his family, will never know happiness (or at least any of his own choosing), and will constantly be cursed by his genius. For all the misery he's had so far, Malcolm understands that his hardships have only just begun. Although he recognizes that his parents' plans are outlandish and improbable, and complains that they are making decisions for him that are rightfully his to make, he signals that he has accepted their vision for him and will carry it in his valedictorian speech at his graduation ceremony. The series ends in a rather mediocre way for him, as he does maintain contact with his family (as evidenced from a phone conversation with Reese), he is shown to be working as a janitor while attending Harvard. Despite this, it should be taken into account that Malcolm does seem to have realized the good this will do for himself and the world, accepts he can do it, and has comes to terms with his future. Further, he realizes this is his role when his mother asked him to look her in the eye and tell her he could not do it, could not do all these things, but he cannot, knowing it well within his ability. Personality and Traits Malcolm is a very sad and anti-social kid, who seems who has a very crappy life. He has an obnoxious family who hates him and a school full of people who hate him even more. He is very seclusive and anti-social introvert who has no friends aside from a few Krelbroynes who would only become his friends during the events within the episodes of the series and this lonesome behavior gives him the time to only think about himself and his own personal feelings on everything. He has sort of "trained" himself to belief all of these very horrible, terrible things about the rest of the world and all the people around him and think nothing but the best of himself, making him a very self-absorbed and egotistical kid and he might actually be right to do so. Malcolm is a repressed genius as he was revealed to have an IQ of 165 in the first episode, which is considered to be "exceptionally gifted", and given all of the disrespect and disregard he has to put up with in his life, his genius is not being expressed to the world the way it should be. Malcolm views himself as a victim of extreme unfairness, believing he deserves a much better life and family. While being a Krelboyne made him a social outcast at school in the earlier seasons and an embarrassment caused by Lois when he started high school assured his continued suffering, Malcolm is blind to how his own obnoxious ego and arrogance drives most people away. He is intolerant to the incompetence he views in most around him, and is quick to call them idiots. Rather then seeing his intelligence as a gift, Malcolm is often burdened by it. Although not all of it is their fault, Malcolm puts much, if not all, of the blame on his family for everything wrong in his life. He is constantly embarrassed by them and often tries to disassociate himself from them as much as possible. His personality causes him to occasionally put his own best interests ahead of others, despite the cost. He has been shown to leave his best friend Stevie Kenarban more than once, and often ran out on his Krelboyne classmates in favor of a more popular crowd (although, it is shown the Krelboynes have no true problem selling Malcolm out themselves). He is shown in later seasons to be extremely self-centered and self-absorbed. When he was feeling left out by Dewey and Reese, Dewey pointed out that his feelings weren't hurt, but rather, his ego was just bruised. Because of the constant pressure they put on him and their own failings, Malcolm Does not look up to Hal and Lois as role models or parental figures. He has little respect for Hal because of his great incompetence as man and outright hates Lois because of her tyranny and ruining of any chance he has for happiness. Despite being egotistical and self-absorbed in the later seasons, Malcolm has shown concern for his family. This was very evident in the episode Hal Grieves, while Reese and Dewey took advantage of their father buying presents. Malcolm realized it was wrong and even being promised a new car, he tried to stop Hal from going through with the purchase by telling him that he'd still love him regardless. It wasn't long until Lois finally steps in. Friends Because Lois forced Malcolm to be in the Krelboyne Class, he had trouble making friends and was bullied. As the series continued, It was shown the main reason for his lack of friends was his own egotistical nature, smug arrogance, and his genius made people view him as weird and alienated him from other kids. What friends Malcolm did have however had no true problem abandoning him or selling him out to save themselves. Though Malcolm himself was more than willing to do the same thing. Stevie Kenarban, played by Craig Lamar Traylor, is Malcolm's best friend. Stevie first meets him in the pilot; they are in the same accelerated class through middle school and most of high school. They originally met on a play date and took a liking to each other through a mutual interest in comic books. Stevie is a wheelchair user and has severe asthma, and only one lung; as a result, he speaks softly and can only say one or two words on each breath. However, despite these handicaps, Stevie seems to be a normal teenager and does not let his physical disadvantages keep him from having a relatively normal life and even uses his handicap to his advantage. He is seen in several episodes milking his handicap to get favors from others, coerce his parents into buying him things, flirt with girls, and even pulling pranks or getting other kids in trouble. Stevie has a sarcastic side, has outsmarted Malcolm and Reese numerous times, and has even managed to get the better of Reese physically on occasion. He has been shown to be a far stronger person than both his parents (even Abe admitted he was a weak, small man). In the episode "Stupid Girl", it is hinted that Stevie might have a crush on Lois, even asking for a picture of her and saying "So how's my girl?" when asking Malcolm about her. As the series progressed, Stevie proved to be Malcolm's only friend in the end. Cynthia Sanders, played by Tania Raymonde, is a new and outgoing Krelboyne girl who joins Malcolm's class in the episode "Krelboyne Girl." Cynthia is one of Malcolm's first crushes throughout the series but quickly takes on the role of a caring and compassionate friend. She knows Krav Maga, which she promptly uses to subdue Reese when his behavior becomes too annoying to her. She is later cited as also having very large breasts for her age. In Season 3 her prolonged absence is explained by stating that she was on a long trip to Europe. After sharing a brief romance with Reese (in which he is only trying to take advantage of her to see her breasts), she returns in the Season 4 episode "Humilithon," saving Malcolm from making a horrible mistake by saying they had sex; destroying her own reputation in the process. After this episode, she is never seen again, and there is no explanation as to what became of her. Lloyd, played by Evan Matthew Cohen, is one of Malcolm and Stevie's Krelboyne classmates and friend for the first four seasons of the show. Lloyd is portrayed as nerdy, physically and emotionally frail, and overly-dramatic. As a Krelboyne (gifted student), Lloyd is often bullied by his classmates (including Reese), and often suffers the consequences of schemes in which he helps Malcolm. Lloyd suffers from anger displacement tendencies and major self esteem issues, which is why he regularly sees the school's therapist, Mrs. Gilbert. He has been publicly humiliated several times, most famously during "Krelboyne Picnic", when he got his braces stuck to a super-powerful magnet he built. It is lightly hinted that he is suicidal, as it is stated by his friend, Dabney, that the majority of his ideas end in suicide, and that he has more than once made a death pact. In "Cynthia's Back", Lloyd mentions that he has a third nipple. Like Malcolm's other Krelboyne friends, Lloyd appears less frequently during the show's fourth season, eventually leaving Stevie as Malcolm's only friend by Season 5. Interestingly, Lloyd is an undergraduate house at Caltech, a university well known for its emphasis on the natural sciences and engineering. Dabney Hooper, played by Kyle Sullivan, is one of Malcolm and Stevie's more emotionally-stricken and flamboyant Krelboyne classmates and friends for the first four seasons of the show. Like other Krelboyne students, Dabney is regularly bullied and often suffers the consequences of schemes with which he helps Malcolm. Dabney has an unhealthy relationship with his mother, Dorene, who orders her son around and attempts to dominate almost all aspects of his life. However, in "Hal's Friend", after Dabney receives a paintball gun as a birthday present from his grandfather, only for Dorene to take it away, Malcolm secretly takes him to a paintball battle course, and in the process he learns to stand up for himself and adopts a no-nonsense attitude towards his mother. Like Malcolm's other Krelboyne friends, Dabney appears less frequently during the show's fourth season, eventually leaving Stevie as Malcolm's only friend by Season 5. Interestingly, Dabney is another undergraduate house at Caltech, a university well known for its emphasis on the natural sciences and engineering. Eraserhead, played by Will Jennings, is one of Malcolm's other Krelboyne classmates. He is seen less frequently than the other Krelboyne students but is shown to have a talent for playing the piano, and often gets involved in class theatre productions. It is known he has an older brother, Alphonse, who beats Reese up in the episode "Krelboyne Picnic" after he is caught tormenting Eraserhead. Kevin, played by Victor Z. Isaac, is a nervous and easily excitable Krelboyne student and one of Malcolm's friends that first appears early in the third season. It is hinted that he's berated at home, as he once exclaimed, when he got a bad grade on a test, "My stepdad's right, I am useless!". Like Malcolm's other Krelboyne friends, Kevin appears less frequently in Season 4, eventually disappearing midway through the season. Kevin's presence in the series seemed to fill the void of Eraserhead. Jessica, played by Hayden Panettiere, is a teenage girl who first made an appearance as a babysitter that Hal hired so that he could take on a second job while Lois was away tending to her pregnancy. Proving to be more of a threat than initially thought, she turned out to be as scheming, conniving and manipulative as any of the boys. In later episodes, she was a frequent visitor as a neighbor who would come over to escape a negligent father. Working again for her own benefit she proceeded to create uncomfortable situations including convincing the family to see "Mamma Mia!" and convincing both Malcolm and Reese that the other was homosexual. In Season 7, she replaced Stevie as Malcolm's best friend and, though manipulative, did her best to look after Malcolm during that time. In one of the final episodes, she convinces Malcolm to end a detrimental relationship claiming that she has feelings for him. After he returns to her once he ends his previous engagement, she confesses that she had once again lied. When Malcolm is upset that he has once again fallen for one of her tricks she kisses him, responding next with 'Yeah, nothing.' He and Jessica eventually get into a relationship together and it may be hinted that Lois will force them to marry. With Stevie's return, Jessica is no longer seen; even during graduation. Much like Cynthia, her character has frequent breaks in between episodes, but unlike Cynthia, Jessica is given much more of a back story and her absences are fewer in the later season, making her more of a central guest character. In one episode, it is revealed that she dates a very large and muscular Asian named Mike, whom Dewey uses to his advantage, in order to get Reese beaten up. Enemies Lionel Herkabe: '''Played by Chris Eigeman, Malcolm's main enemy aside from Lois. A former Krelboyne himself, he became a Krelboyne teacher who, despite sharing many of Malcolm's traits and personality, hates him profoundly and does whatever he can to outdo him. In the third season, he tries his best to make Malcolm feel small, mostly because he is less of a genius. Because of that, Malcolm has a strong sense of right, which Herkabe strongly objects to because he thinks that because he is miserable, Malcolm has to be miserable. The only time he was actually nice to Malcolm was in Season 4's Academic Octathalon, when Herkabe had learned that he snuck into the room, stole the results and believed he gave North High an advantage. In Season 7, he once got Malcolm to agree to fail all of his classes intentionally, in exchange leaving Reese alone. However, Herkabe makes a mistake confessing that he failed gym and lied about not taking the class for years in order to protect his GPA award. Malcolm got his revenge on him by telling the school principal, Mr. Hodges (Steve Vinovich) about it. Herkabe loses his GPA award for failing gym and had to retake the course again. He's last seen being humiliated by an overly exicited Reese tossing dodgeballs at him out of revenge for all the humiliation he endured. '''Josh: '''Played by Michael Welch, was a next-door neighbor of Malcolms and supposedly wanted to be his friend empathizing with him about his hate for Lois. It was soon revealed that he was a pathological and conniving liar who got him into serious trouble with everyone. One night he and Reese teamed up to destroy his lies, but caught Josh's mother, Tina, cheating on her husband (who was the only family member that got along with Hal) with her gardener in a jacuzzi. This embarrassed her into making her children move away from Malcolm's family to avoid having them spill the beans on the affair. Josh was never seen again, possibly embarrassed by his mother's affair with the gardener. '''Family Many episodes showed Malcolm's biggest adversaries were his own family. Mostly Reese, Dewey, and his mother Lois. At one point he finds out that instead of the most popular among his brothers, he is actually the least liked as they don't wish to spend anymore time with him as they have to. Trivia *The character was originally written to be nine-years-old, and Frankie Muniz was sure this would prevent him from getting the role, as he himself was thirteen at the time. However, the makers of the show liked his acting so much that they bumped up the age of the character up to eleven. *Out of the boys, Walter Wilkerson (the boys' grandfather and Hal's father) likes Malcolm the most because of their love for history. This was partially shown in Season 4's "Family Reunion" when they were trying to recreate a battle scene between the Union and the Confederacy. *In Season 4, Episode 10, If Boys Were Girls, his female counterpart in Lois' fantasies was Mallory, who was played by Lisa Foiles. Like Malcolm, she has a great intelligence, but she does not share his egotistical, self-absorbed nature and actually has a decent social life. *Martin Spanjers auditioned for the role of Malcolm before Frankie Muniz. *Malcolm's IQ is 165, as revealed in the Pilot as he was taking a IQ test. *Malcolm's first line in Malcolm in the Middle was "This is the world." *Malcolm was born on the front lawn of his house. *In the first season, Malcolm was almost 13 years old and in sixth grade. *Malcolm was originally going to be 9 years old, preventing Muniz from getting the role. However, the director like his acting, so he bumped the character's age up to 12. Category:Characters Category:Wilkerson family Category:Krelboynes Category:Male